Diesel Spills in Columbia River

The US Coast Guard responded to a diesel spill that was discharged from the fishing vessel Emerald Sea in the Columbia River on August 29.

The 250-gallon diesel spill left a reported 1-mile by 500-yard sheen in the water at Skipanon Marina on the Columbia River.

The master of the Emerald Sea, an 86-foot vessel homeported in Aberdeen, Washington, said the oil was spilled while conducting an internal fuel transfer at the marina Monday morning.

Inspectors with the USCG personnel in Astoria have been monitoring the situation while the vessel’s crew has worked with harbormasters to clean the spill, the coast guard said.

Coast Guard responders reported the sheen was dissipating by 1 p.m. on August 29.

USCG said the Emerald Sea had since transited to Ilwaco, Washington, where Incident Management Division (IMD) located the crew and requested the master to self-report the spill to Coast Guard National Response Center and return to Skipanon Marina to clean the spill. No sheen was visible in Ilwaco.

No hazards to navigation or affected wildlife have been reported.